


Bad Influence

by AbsolutelyLiviD



Series: ✨Unit Bravo as parents✨ [1]
Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, I promise I'm not shipping Mason and Natalie, Just noticed the typo, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26668405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsolutelyLiviD/pseuds/AbsolutelyLiviD
Summary: Several years after the main story, former Detective Emily Sage and Adam discover the many joys and perils of parenthood. Mason is a bad influence (what else is new)
Relationships: Detective's child & Mason, Detective/Adam du Mortain, Female Detective/Adam du Mortain
Series: ✨Unit Bravo as parents✨ [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940410
Kudos: 10





	Bad Influence

"Mom, look! I'm _super_ big and _cool_ just like Dad!" Emily smiled and looked over to her daughter, striking a pose in a too-big pair of sunglasses that definitely weren't hers and trying to show off biceps that weren't even slightly there.

But Natalie was five years old, so she simply chuckled. "You look great, sweetie. Did Dad give you those sunglasses?"

"Yeah!" It sounded like an obvious lie, but Adam was famously soft for their daughter, so the idea wasn't impossible.

"Look, I'm gonna go talk with Dad, okay? Uncle Nate is in the living room if you need anything. I'll be back soon." She just nodded enthusiastically, so Emily could walk away without feeling bad.

\---

A couple of minutes later, she was standing in front of the door to Adam's office. She raised her hand to knock absentmindedly before snapping back to the present and pushing the door open with a low chuckle.

He was sitting at his desk, obviously so engrossed in the papers that he didn't even notice her come in. Not even when she was right behind him, which she celebrated by planting a soft kiss on his neck.

"Ah! There you are, dear. Where is Natalie?" He appeared surprised, but certainly not disappointed at her action. Once upon a time, it would have been so different...

She was glad that was all in the past now. It still made her unbelievably happy every time she realised that she could smile at him and he wouldn't resist smiling back.

He cleared his throat. "Oh, right, she's with Nate." She refused to be embarrassed by the happy thoughts.

"You seem distracted, dear. What are you thinking about?"

She smiled unabashedly. "You. I love you."

"I love you too." It wasn't that big thing like the first time, but the words still warmed her heart and settled in her chest, each strand cementing the truth that he wasn't going to run away anymore.

He leaned forwards and kissed her nose, eliciting a giggle that only made his smile widen.

...But then he stepped away. "There has to be a reason you came here, though? Aside from my amazing company."

She loved their banter. Drawing one hand through his hair, she mumbled, "Maybe I just wanted to see you."

He caught her wrist in his hands and brought it to his lips. "Nice try, but you're a bad liar. What did she do this time?"

She let out a sigh but smiled. "You haven't been missing your favorite pair of aviators? I have to say, they really suit her though. She claims that you gave them to her."

He rubbed his forehead and groaned. "Well, technically she wasn't lying. She came to me earlier and said something, but I didn't hear what it was so I just said "yeah". I guess that must've been it."

"And how many times has this happened now?"

"...Three. But it's not my fault!"

"Uh huh," she muttered, the sarcasm coming easily to her. "I guess she just mind controlled you then, yeah?"

"She chooses the times when I'm just tired enough not to notice. A little sneak already."

Emily gave a light laugh. "You think she's gonna grow up to be an agent?" She meant for the comment to be easy, just a little bit of teasing involved.

But Adam stiffened, and she realised her mistake.

Getting older. Getting _old._ Mortality.

Whichever threats they went through, it always came back to mortality. "Adam..." She trailed off. What was she supposed to say? They both knew time was running steadily.

An uncertainity she hadn't seen in months made his eyebrows tighten into a frown and he crossed his arms. "Are we ever going to talk about that?" He wasn't angry, just... resigned.

She sighed. "Someday. Can't we at least enjoy a few years in peace? I couldn't-" her voice broke and tears threatened to spill. "I _can't_ risk leaving Natalie without me. She wouldn't survive that."

He unfurled his arms and touched her cheek, rubbing the pad of his thumb over her mouth. " _I_ wouldn't survive that." Pain flooded his features and he shuddered. "Do you still not realise how much you mean to me?"

To be honest, they had been married for six years, and it still sounded unbelievable. That anyone- that _he_ could feel so strongly for her... it was everything she always wanted but never thought she could have. "I..."

The door slammed open and she jumped back before remembering they didn't do that anymore. With a strained smile, she reached out and took Adam's hand without daring to look at him.

He squeezed it and a tiny bit of the tension disappeared as she finally took in who had interrupted them. It was Natalie. Of course it was Natalie. Life as a parent seemingly had the unconditional condition that she could have no daytime together with her husband that wasn't, in some way, disrupted by her daughter.

"Mom! Felix is hiding and he told me to find him but I don't see him anywhere! Do you think he's upset! Did I do something wrong?"

Clearly her daughter inherited her incapability to understand social cues. She chuckled and let go of Adam's hand (her palm felt weirdly cold without his in it) to lean down to Natalie's level. "Sweetie, he's trying to play hide and seek with you. It's a game, and you win if you find him."

"Ohhh. I'm gonna _beat his ass!"_ She was just about to race out again, but Emily grabbed her shoulders, forcing her daughter to turn back. "Mom, I can't let him win!" she whined.

"Did you learn these words from Mason, Natalie?"

"Huh? Yeah. Can I go now?"

Adam chuckled from beside her, the formerly bad mood thankfully forgotten for the moment. She frowned at the little girl. "Do you know what they mean?"

"It means I'm gonna win, duh! What's the problem?"

"Well..." She pinched her nose and let out a breath. "You know there's good words and bad words, right?" Natalie nodded. "Those are bad words, so you shouldn't say them. Okay?"

_"Fineeeee..."_ As soon as Emily let go of her shoulders, the girl was gone around the corner. An echoing shout of _"Bye, Mom!"_ reached her ears and she smiled.

Adam sighed. "We're going to have to talk to him about this. Who knows what he'll tell her next?"

She couldn't help but snort. "Maybe we should keep a bet. I'm thinking something like horny or swear words. I _really_ hope he has enough decency not to teach her swear words, at least."

"Dear, please." But his serious tone was betrayed by the smirk on his face. "Let's just hope this situation doesn't arise again at all. I'm sure Mason will respect our wishes."

"Are we talking about the same guy?"

\---

Natalie tried her best pout, summoning all her puppy-likeness to make him do what she wanted. Unfortunately, Uncle Mason was a tough nut. "I'm not going to teach you any swear words, little brat." (Her Mom said the nickname was rude, but as he obviously didn't mean it that way she conveniently forgot to mention he hadn't stopped).

"Why not? Emily doesn't have to know."

"Seriously? You're gonna go behind your parents' backs the same day they talked to you about exactly that?"

Her cheeks burned slightly and she looked down. "So what, you gonna report me to my parents?"

He smirked. "No, I'm proud of you. Only... what is it, three years old and already sneaking around? Color me impressed."

"I'm _five!"_

"Uh huh. Either way, you're still really young."

She scuffed her foot on the hard floor before trying another tactic. "You _will_ tell me more words, otherwise I'll--- I'll just search them up on the internet myself!"

"Ooh, little brat. I don't think you want to do that. The internet is a _real_ cesspool. Even I'm more innocent."

She peered up at him curiously. "What does cesspool mean?"

"It means it's bad. But," seeing the excitement on her face, he added, "it's not a bad _word,_ so you can't get a rise out of your parents with it."

She tried to stomp on his foot, but he moved it away with surprising speed, making her stumble slightly. "Oh, please, don't even try to hit me. You won't succeed."

"Can't you just tell me?" Uncle Mason had never resisted before, she didn't understand what had changed now.

He debated with himself for a moment before leaning down to whisper in her ear. "Okay, have you ever heard of _this_ word?"

She giggled.

\---

Emily smacked her forehead. "What's wrong, dear?"

She pointed to his empty desk. "I forgot to talk to her about the aviators. Ugh, is it going to be like this for thirteen years more?"

Adam chuckled. "Not that I have a lot of experience with children, but I think five years old is supposed to be the worst phase. But then, of course there's the teenage years."

"And that's _worse?"_

**Author's Note:**

> 1.5k words is a record for me so I'm proud 😁


End file.
